1. The Field of the Invention
This invention concerns improvements in and relating to signal handling and processing, particularly, but not exclusively systems for handling and processing signals arising from radiation monitoring systems.
2. The Relevant Technology
A wide variety of radiation monitoring systems are known for a great range of purposes. These include systems for detecting alpha emissions, beta emissions, gamma emissions or neutron emissions. Detection may be effected directly, for instance by the interaction of the emitted form with a detector, or indirectly, for instance through a by-product of the emitted form interacting with a detector.
Due to the different emissions being detected by each instrument, the different purpose of each instrument, the different environment in which each instrument is to be deployed and the different manner of each instrument's operation, existing instruments are designed specific for their application and have internal structures and modes of operation which are accordingly specific.
Additionally, when making instruments for radiation monitoring, or monitoring of other potentially hostile environments, existing systems invariably seek to minimize the amount of equipment in or close to the hostile environment and remove as much as possible of the equipment away from the hostile environment to more convenient locations. Thus whilst the detector unit for generating the signals may be placed in close proximity to the hostile environment, the signal handling apparatus, such as amplifying and discriminating units, and the processing apparatus, such as counters, data processors and result presentation units, are removed as far from the hostile environment of the detectors as reasonably possible.